The co-combustion of coal gangue and low-rank coal can address the issues of low calorific value and strong slagging tendency of coal gangue as well as the low utilization of low-rank coal. Taking coal gangue and low-rank coal with different blending ratios as the research objects, the co-combustion characteristics and kinetic parameters of samples were deeply explored by using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, thermogravimetric analyzer and kinetic calculation. The results indicate that the combustion processes of both low-rank coal and coal gangue can be divided into three stages, namely dehydration, volatile release and char combustion, and decomposition of carbonate and other minerals. With the increase in the blending ratio of coal gangue, a discernible elevation is observed in both ignition temperature and burnout temperature of the samples, accompanied by a marked deterioration in the comprehensive combustion index. This phenomenon can be primarily attributed to the high ash and low fixed carbon content in coal gangue. Kinetic analysis elucidates that the incorporation of coal gangue leads to a significant reduction in the average activation energy of the combustion reaction, thereby promoting the processes. Combined with combustion characteristic parameters, the mixture of low-rank coal with coal gangue demonstrates optimal comprehensive utilization performance at a blending ratio of 8∶2.